Graeme Stuart

Youth Work and Nonviolence: Nonviolence As a Foundation for Youth Work Practice Graeme Stuart

Youth work is shaped by a combination of social, political and historical factors, and operates within a context where young people frequently experience violence or attempts to control them. Nonviolence offers youth workers a foundation for practice that does not rely on coercion or control. Drawing on youth work literature, nonviolence literature, telephone interviews and focus groups with youth workers and face-to-face interviews with young people and youth workers, this book considers the implications of a philosophy of nonviolence for youth workers. Youth workers have generally heard of nonviolence activists like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King but are unlikely to be aware of the philosophy underpinning the nonviolence they, and many other women and men, practised. This book argues that nonviolence is a solid foundation for youth work practice and provides useful insights for youth workers. Although focusing on the context of Australian youth work, this book will be relevant to youth workers around the world.